Calabria is looking to return to sardine fishing

An exploratory campaign will take place for the next two months to study fish populations

Sardines have always been an important economic source for Italian fishermen and an important part of the Mediterranean diet. That is why the Calabrian regional government was glad to announce yesterday, 18 January, that the national Agricultural Ministry had given the go-ahead for an experimental fishing campaign to take place in the next two months, which will study the population sizes of the bluefish.

A fishery management project financed with European funds

The Calabrian Department of Agriculture, Hunting and Fishing had earlier submitted to project proposals for fishery management in the Tyrrhenian and Western Ionian Seas for approval for funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

“The Ministry has approved our documents, thus allowing the Agriculture and Agri-food Resources Department… to proceed with the publication of the announcement for the selection of suitable boats,” said Gianluca Gallo, a regional councillor.

“It will be an experimental initiative for study purposes, in order to acquire data that can lead, within a year, to allow the fishing of sardines for commercial purposes, with due respect for the necessary balance between the protection of the marine ecosystem and the economic needs of a land that has great expectations in terms of growth and development precisely in fishing,“ he added.

The period between January and March is the traditional fishing season for sardines, which is why the campaign will be taking place now. Only 6 fishing units, equipped with logs, will be allowed to participate in each of the areas (Tyrrhenian and western Ionian Seas).

These will record the times, places and methods of catching, as well as the species in each catch. More specifically, the size of the juvenile population of sardines, which shows the recovery effect, will be recorded.